German police said Algerian suspect missing in Bremen, Germany, had made statements sympathising with a gunman who killed nine people in Munich, and with Islamic State, but they had no evidence he had any concrete plans or ties to the militant group.

German police said Algerian suspect missing in Bremen, Germany, had made statements sympathising with a gunman who killed nine people in Munich, and with Islamic State, but they had no evidence he had any concrete plans or ties to the militant group.

The 19-year-old man made the comments while in police custody in the state of Lower Saxony this past weekend for several thefts, a spokesman said.

He was transferred to a psychiatric facility after he tried to hurt himself multiple times and authorities determined he had consumed drugs and posed a possible danger to himself and others, the spokesman said. The man fled that facility earlier Wednesday, yelling, "I'll blow you up."

Authorities evacuated a shopping centre in Bremen on Wednesday evening as police hunted for the suspect after people there called police to report what they described as suspicious behaviour. Earlier, a suitcase exploded near a reception centre for migrants in southern Germany, but authorities said the blast may have been caused by an aerosol can, and there was no sign of any explosives involved